cliff talks. first up here on overview from a capitol hill reporter on social security. >> here to talk about the prop program and how it is involved in these discussions. steven joining us from the associated press where he's a reporter. thank you for being here. how many people in america receive social security and how much do they get? guest: a little bit more than 56 million people get social security and the average benefit is a little over $12,000 -- let's see, a little over $1,200 a month. so maybe it's like $13,000, $14,000 a year. host: and we're talking about retirees. also, though, the disabled. guest: yes, yes. actually we have a fairly wide group of people get social security benefits. retired workers, spouses, children, disabled workers, widows, widowers. it's actually a fairly big social safety net of people who get social security benefits. host: as you mentioned, about 56 million beneficiaries. those retirees receive about $1,200 a month on average. the benefits for the disabled,